Morocco Launches Probe into Covid-19 Aid Fraud as Payment Rollout Faces Challenges

The operation to pay allowances to eligible Ramed cardholders has experienced some glitches, notes Assabah. More or less dense crowds at several bank ATMs and money transfer offices, particularly in rural areas, non-compliance with social distancing... The risks of Covid-19 contamination were high.

Among the beneficiaries, there are people who have provided false information about the number of dependent children. They declared more than three or four children to receive the maximum allowance. The other anomaly observed is that wealthy families, who abnormally hold RAMED cards, which are in principle intended exclusively for needy families, have also benefited from the allowance. This is unacceptable and the Ministry of the Interior intends to correct it.

Moreover, the ministry has already opened an investigation into the illegally issued Ramed cards to more or less wealthy people who have been using them so far for less expensive medical care in public hospitals.